Tool for holding fire-bricks of water-tube boilers.



No. 811,844. PATENTED FEB. 6, 1906.

P. HBBLY J. KEBRS. TOOL FOR HOLDING'PIRE BRICKS OF WATER TUBE BOILERS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 7, 1905.

Wnc 61966.

- rob tillt l il 1 PATRICK HEELY AND JUHN'KEERS, or hnoonhrh, new route. Tool. For: Haunt: rme nniue our waves-trusts entrees.

tlipeeihcationiol Letters ll atent.

lll'atented ran. it, 'llllllllh and inserting or removing fire-bricks of we ter-tube boilers; and its main object is to pro vide a tool by-means of which such fire-bricks may be readily inserted and removed. 15 s is well known, the tubes of water-tube boilers pass through bahleplates which. are protected from the direct action of the in tense heat of the furnace byfire--bricksof very refractory material, these fire-bricks being so shaped as to fill the spaces between the water-tubes and being generall identical in contour and constructed tov fil asubstantiallydiamond-shaped space between four adjacent water-tubes and lying in close contactwith adjacent fire bricks'filling other In water-tube boilers there a dillicult matter to, locate them in position or remove them alter they are once n place and, so far as we are aware, no 'specia tool has been heretofore devised for this purpose and there is no means in use for accomplishing this result. In order to insert or re- -movea fire-brick, it is necessary first to errpand the water-tubes at a point somewhat in advance of the osition occupied or to be oc cupied by the e-brick and afterward so to manipulate the fire-brick as to enter it between the tubes at the point where they are s readand then move it into contact with,

t e baffle-plate by forcing it alo between the water-tubes, or, in case it is part ybroken, to destroy it or break it out or to move it along toward the point where the tubes are spread and then withdrew it at. the point where the tubes are so spread. In a companion' ap lication, filed of evendate herewith, we avedisclosed a tool especially adapted for spreading water-tubes at a suitable point in advance of the baflleplate throu h which they. pass, such tool being designer? to spread the water-tubes and then hold. them 111- their spread positions while a fire-brick is being inserted or removed. Our present invention relates to a tool by means ol which such fire-bricks are inserted or removed after the water-tubes have been spreading the water-tubes it has been found extremely difficult to spread the tubes to a suflicient extent and maintain them in their spread positions. Because of this it has usua ly been necessary to cut away portions of the edges oil the fire-bricks in order to reduce their else sufficiently to. permit the insertion of the same edgewise between the water-tubes and subsequent turning of the fire-bricks into their proper positions in parallelism with the be-plata This cutting operation is always a dillicultone to erl'orm without spoiling-or breaking the e-brick. It always weakens the brick, which is then more liable to'be broken, and the removal of the portions of the edges results in leaving portions oi the haeplate uncovered, and hence unprotected 'l'rom the intense heat of the furnacc.

When the watert"ubes between which firebrielrs are to be inserted or from which said fire-hricks are to he removed are spread by means olthe tool disclosed in our companion application, the insertion of" fire-bricks of full size is-permitted, and the tool constituting the sub ect-matter of this inventionis an i111 portant auxiliary to such spreading-tool, the two when used together being ell'ective for in serting fire-bricks of hill size without break ing or weakening the same and without leaving any portion of the baffle-plate unprotected.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming part of the present application, Figure 1 is an elevation of our tool for holding and inserting or removing lirebrioks in operative relation with a lire-brick and a plurality of tubes between which such brick is to be inserted, said tool being broken near the middle. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation al the brick-holding end of the same in operative relation with a firebricl Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The rincipal elements of our tool for holding an inserting or removing the fire-bricks of water-tubeboilers are a carrier, which is prelerabl 1n the form ol a rod, and-means thereon lor clamping and releas ng a; lirebrick, said means being preferably a pair of clamps projecting from the rod and adapted to engage two of the edges of the fire-brick, one of these clamps being adjustable with respect to the other to engage or release the fire-brick. The carrier which supports these clamps will preferably consist of two main parts, one of which carries one of the clamps and the other of which carries the other clamp and is movable relatively to the first part of the carrier and its clamp. The particular construction of the two arts of the carrier maybe varied considerab y. In the construction shown the main or fixed member of the carrier is designated generally by'2, and consists of a tube 3 and a bracket 4, into which said tube is screwed, said tube being externally threaded at its inner end and engaging corresponding screw-threads of a bore in the rectangular shelf 5 of the bracket 4. The fixed member of the carrier constitutes a guide on which the movable member will preferably slide, the part 3 being the guide proper.

In the construction shown the movable member of the tool is a rod 6, slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the bore of the tube 3, said rod constituting a slide which works in said bore in'the tube.

The means for holding and releasing the fire-brick, such as b, will preferably be a pair of clamps, one of which is in fixed relation with onemain part of the carrier and ,the other of which is preferably carried by and movable relatively to the other main part of said carrier. Here the bracket 4 constitutes a flattened support for a fire-brick and has at its outer end an integral hp 7 projecting therefrom and constituting the fixed clamp of the tool. This clamp in the line of its base is disposed at an obtuse angle to the part 4 and in the line of its hei ht at substantially a right angle thereto. a The other clamp preferably projects from the opposite side of the carrier and is connected to the rod 6, so as to be movable therewith lengthwise of the tool. This movable clamp may be of the type shown at 8, it being a hinged clamp pivoted at 9 to the inner end of the rod 6and adapted to swing about its pivot in order to vary its angular relation with respect to the carrier and accommodate itself to fire-bricks of different contours. This clamp also preferably has a lip 10 projecting therefrom substantially at a right angle thereto for the purpose of supporting one of the lower corners of the fire-brick.

In order to adjust the position of the clamp 8 lengthwise of the carrier, I prefer to connect the two main parts of the carrier by screw-threads, the tube 3 being externally screw-threaded at its outer end for a considthreads 11 of said tube and having a swiveled connection with the rod 6, constituting the other main element of the carrier. Here the nut 10 is recessed at its outer end, as indicated in dotted lines at12, and a cap nut 13,

referably of similar contour, is screwed into the end of the nut 10 and is itself recessed at its inner side, as indicated by the dotted line 14. A stop-collar, such as 15, which may be fastened to the outer end ofthe rod 6 by means of a pin, such as 16, limits the movement of the rod 6 lengthwise of the nuts 10 and* 13, while permitting said nuts to turn freely on the tube 3 without turning'said rod. When the nuts are turned in unison in the one direction or the other, it will move along thescrew-threads l1, and the rod 6 will be similarly shifted "without turning, and will effect a corresponding-change in the'longitu-- dinal position of the adjustable clamp 8. It will be apparent also that the screw-threads will serve to hold said clamp positively in any position to which it may be adjusted. Hence when a fire-brick, such as b, is placed between the clamping-jaws and the movable clamp 8 is closed onto the same the fire-brick will be firmly gripped and held in place until it is released by turning the nuts 10 and 13 in unison in the opposite direction.

As before stated, the tool shown herein is intended for use in connection with a tubespreading tool of the type shown in our companion application. When the water-tubes t and t have been spread to the. proper extent by the tool described in said companion application and while they are held in such spread positions, a fire brick clamped in place, as shown in Fig 1, is inserted edgewise by the tool illustrated herein, and the tool and brick are then turned to the position .shown in said figure, after which the firebrick is moved along parallel with the tubes .until it is in contact with the baffle-plate,

means of this tool fire-bricks may be insertedor removed either from below or from above the bank of tubes.

It will be noted that the fire-brick shown is of full size and has not been cut away at the ends or rounded off at the sides in order to enter it betweenthe tubes of the boiler, such cutting being unnecessary when the tubes are spread by means of the tool disclosed in our companion application, and the full strength of the approximately diamondshaped fire-brick being therefore retained.

What we claim is 1. A tool for holding fire-bricks at dia on ally opposite corners of the bricks and for inserting said bricks in or removing them from water-tube boilers, embodying a rodlike carrier, and means on said carrier for clamping and releasing a fire-brick at diagonally opposite corners thereof.

ICC

2. A tool for holding and msertin or removing the fire-bricks of water-tube oilers, embodying a rod-like carrier, a pair of clamps projecting respectively from and engaging a projecting respectively from and engaging a rick at opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said carrier at obtuse angles thereto,

. and means foradjusting one of said clamps itsan ular v 6. too forholding and inserting or rerelatively to the other.

4. A tool for holding and insertin or removing the fire-bricks of water-tube oilers, embodying-4a rod-like carrier, a pair of clamps projecting respectively from and engaging a rick at opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said carrier each clamp being with respectto the carrier substantially at a right angle in the lineof its height and at an obtuse angle in the line of its base.

5. A tool for holding and insertin or removing the fire-bricks of-water-tube oilers, embodying a rod-like carrielg'a pair of clamps projecting respectively from and engaging a rick at o posite sides of the longitudinal axis of said carrier one of said clamps being movable lengthwise of said carrier and also mounted to swing on said carrier to change osition.

moving the fire-bricks of water-tube boilers,

, embodying a rod-'like carrier, a pair of clamps projectingrespectively from and engaging a brick alt-opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said carrier one of said clamps having an angular brick-supporting lip, and means for adjusting one of said clamps relatively to the other. i

7. A tool for holding'and inserting or removing the fire-bricks of water-tube boilers,

embodying a two-partrod-like carrier, a'pair ;of clamps projecting respectively from and engagin a brick at opposite sides of the Ion gitudina axis of the two parts of said carrier,

and means for movin I one' part of the car rier relatively to the ot er,

- 8. A tool for holding and inserting or removing the fire-bricks of water-tube boilers, embodying a two-part rod-like carrier the two parts of which are connected by screwthreads and are adjustable thereby relatively to each other, and apair of clamps rojecting respectively from and engaging a rick at opposite sides. of the, longitudinal axispf the two parts of said carrier.

9. A tool for holding fire-bricks at diagonally opposite corners of the bricks and for inserting said bricks in or removing them from water-tube boilers, embodyin a twopart rodlike carrier one part'of whic constitutes a guide andthe other part'a slide movable along said guide, a pairof clamps",pro-- jecting respectively'from said guide and slide for clamping and releasing a fire-brick at diagonally opposite corners thereof, and means for adjustin the slide along said uide and for holding '51 Si ned at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings e same in-its adjusted position.

and tate of New York, this 23d day of June, i

A. D. 1905. g I

PATRICK HEELY. JOHN KEERS. Witnesses:

- a Bonner H. MACFARLANE,

ROBERT CHAMPION. 

